The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
Two new trials in the Houston area are recruiting participants to study whether giving people infusions of blood from recovered COVID-19 patients can help treat early-stage infections or even prevent people from catching the disease. Full Story
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Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, blamed “mixed messages that have come out of Washington” for waning public trust. Full Story
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The state is partnering with the Texas State University System to add roughly 200 new staffers to its stable of more than 3,500 contact tracers. Full Story
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Experts say the Supreme Court is unlikely to strike down the law in its entirety. Texas’ GOP leaders have yet to produce a promised plan to replace it. Full Story
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In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when testing supplies were limited, local politicians went to great lengths to help a businessman with a criminal past try to sell telehealth and COVID-19 services across Texas. Full Story
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Campaigns, political organizations and students at schools across Texas say they’re worried and frustrated that pandemic health restrictions are stymying efforts to register and turn out students to vote. Full Story
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Local health officials describe the electronic system as “cumbersome,” “archaic” and “really slow," though its performance has improved since it was upgraded in August. Full Story
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Health experts worry about testing shortages and crowded hospitals as flu season approaches in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Full Story
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The co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital talked during The Texas Tribune Festival about the hunt for a vaccine and how we can reopen safely. Full Story
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Speaking during The Texas Tribune Festival, Clinton said Democrats should play up the risks to health care access that could result from a more conservative high court overturning the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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In counties where four-year college students make up at least 10% of the population, cases have grown 34% since Aug. 19, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. That’s compared with 23% in counties with a smaller proportion of students. Full Story
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We’ve lost a lot of Texans already and will surely lose more to the coronavirus. Doesn’t it seem like there should at least be a moment of silence? Full Story
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Photojournalists are regularly in the thick of things when they cover stories, but 2020 has made their jobs even more difficult. Here's a look at the work of five Tribune photographers in this extraordinary year — and some of the gear they've used. Full Story
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Cruz said that Barr has done an "admirable job" and that the Trump administration took "serious and ... extraordinary" steps to fight the pandemic. Full Story
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Visitors previously were allowed only into long-term care facilities where there were no active cases of the virus among residents and no confirmed cases among staff members in the past two weeks. Full Story
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Restaurants, retail stores and office buildings will now be able to operate at 75% capacity, Abbott said. Three regions — the Rio Grande Valley, Laredo and Victoria — were excluded from the loosening of restrictions, however. Full Story
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Budget cuts meant skimpier caches of protective equipment, and Texas' chronic shortage of public health workers has made the response more difficult, experts said. Full Story
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Public health experts say discrepancies in key metrics, such as the positivity rate, made it difficult for officials to make informed policy decisions. Full Story
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Cecile Richards, a Texas native, made the comment in an interview during The Texas Tribune Festival that aired Wednesday. Limits on abortion access earlier this year spurred legal battles. Full Story
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At UT-Rio Grande Valley, administrators spent a tense summer preparing for the fall semester while local coronavirus rates spiked, the area spiraled into further economic depression and debate raged across the nation about how to safely send college students back to school. Full Story
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